Huskers Open 32-Game Home Slate vs. Nebraska-Kearney

Date       Date      Opponent                    Radio                   Internet                   Time
Wed.  March 2    vs. Nebraska-Kearney (4-2) Husker Sports Network    Huskers.com          1:35 p.m.

Fri.    March 4   vs. No. 8/5/5/6 UCLA (5-2)    Husker Sports Network  Huskers.com           1:35 p.m.   

Sat.   March 5    vs. No. 8/5/5/6 UCLA (5-2)   Husker Sports Network  Huskers.com            2:05 p.m.

Sun.   March 6   vs. No. 8/5/5/6 UCLA (5-2)    Husker Sports Network  Huskers.com           1:05 p.m.

Media Info
Live Radio: Selected Husker Sports Network and for free on the Internet at Huskers.com (affiliate list on page five of today's notes)
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video: Huskers.com (HuskersNSide with paid subscription)
Television: None

Probable Starting Pitching Matchup
Matt Freeman, Sr., RHP (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Mike Loeske, Jr., LHP (0-0, 12.00 ERA)  

*Polls are listed in order: Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, ESPN/USA Today Coaches/NCBWA

This Week: Nebraska opens the 10th season at Hawks Field this Wednesday afternoon when it hosts Nebraska-Kearney at 1:35 p.m. The Huskers have 32 home games on the 2011 schedule, 14 of which are slated for the month of March. At the end of this week, Nebraska will host one of its premier weekends of the season by welcoming No. 8/5/5/6 UCLA for a three-game set.

On the Radio: Fans across Nebraska and around the world can listen to Greg Sharpe and Lane Grindle call all of the action this weekend on the Husker Sports Network - including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, KFAB 1110 AM in Omaha - and on the Internet at Huskers.com. A complete list of Husker Sports Network affiliates can be found on page 5.

On the Huskers NSide: Wednesday's game will be the first of 27 games either available on HuskersNside or Huskers.com during the 2011 season. A television schedule will be announced soon.

Preview: The Huskers begin an eight-game homestand this Wednesday afternoon when they host Nebraska-Kearney and at Hawks Field. After winning five in a row from Feb. 19-26, Nebraska is now looking to rebound from a pair of setbacks to Sam Houston State last weekend at the Bearkat Invitational in Huntsville, Texas.

Junior leadoff hitter Kale Kiser has paced the Huskers in 2011 as he leads NU with a .469 batting average and .600 on-base percentage. Sophomore Bryan Peters had the hottest bat last weekend at the Bearkat Invitational in Huntsville, Texas, as he hit a team-best .467 (7-of-15) with three doubles and eight RBIs. The second baseman had two identical showings at the plate, twice going 3-for-4 with three RBIs in a 12-8 win over Northern Colorado and 10-9 setback to Sam Houston State. The highlight of the week was NU's relief pitching, as seniors Casey Hauptman and Matt Freeman combined to go 10 1/3 innings, while giving up only one run on seven hits. Each was credited with a win in two victories over Northern Colorado.

Nebraska-Kearney comes to Lincoln with a 4-2 record through the first two weeks of action. The Lopers most recently split games with Missouri Western, winning a 4-2 battle and then dropping a 17-16 offensive showdown.

Pitching Rotation
Wednesday vs. Nebraska-Kearney - #11 - Matt Freeman • Sr. • RHP • 6-1 • 184 • Omaha, Neb. (Elkhorn)

Matt Freeman will make his first start since March 24, 2009 when he takes the mound for Nebraska's home opener this Wednesday - Pitched his best game last Saturday in Huntsville, guiding NU to a 3-0 shutout of Northern Colorado Set career highs in innings (5.1) and strikeouts (7) against the Bears while holding UNC scoreless - Saw limited action in 2010 following shoulder surgery - Had a strong 2010 summer playing for San Luis Obispo in the California Collegiate League with three NU teammates (Cory Burleson, Chad Christensen and Sean Yost) - Produced a 4-2 record with a 4.26 ERA for the Blues, while ranking third in appearances (17) - Struck out 34 hitters and walked only five in 31.2 innings Made two appearances in October's Red-White Series, striking out four and giving up three hits in 3.0 innings Made 14 appearances in 2009, posting no decisions, a save and a 6.10 ERA - Allowed 11 hits and fanned 20 over 20.2 innings, as he held foes to a .153 batting average - Was one of three true freshmen who saw significant action for the Huskers in 2008, as NU won 48 games an hosted an NCAA Regional - Worked out of the bullpen in long and middle relief, posting a 4.66 ERA in nine contests - Pitched at least an inning in all nine appearances and allowed earned runs in two outings Began his college career by not allowing a run in his first five appearances - Was one of the top pitching prospects in Nebraska playing at Elkhorn High School Named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Nebraska and Louisville Slugger Player of the Year as a senior - Tabbed as the honorary captain of the World-Herald's All-Nebraska team after compiling a 5-1 record, three saves and a 0.76 ERA as a senior to lead Elkhorn High School to a 27-5 record and a Class A state title - Hails from the same high school as former Major League pitcher Jason Christiansen.

Scouting Nebraska-Kearney The Lopers are off to a 4-2 start after taking three games from Wayne State and splitting a two-game set against Missouri Western State. UNK is coming off a 36-20 campaign in which it finished runner-up in the RMAC with an 18-12 league mark. The Lopers went two and out in the Division II NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska-Kearney has had a strong offense through the first two weeks of the season, three times scoring double-digit runs. Leading the charge is Brandon Buchanan, who is tops on the team with a .563 batting average. G.J. Henry is also hiting a .500 clip, whiel Felix Segovia (.444) and Daren Grace (.409) also also over .400. Luke Valerius and Jordan Mitchelhill, both pre-season All-RMAC selections, are hitting .389 and .391, with Valerious leading UNK in RBIs with eight. The Lopers have six starters back from its 2010 squad.

UNK is expected to start junior Mike Loseke. The left hander has started one game this season, as he gave up five runs and six hits in 3.0 innings against Wayne State, a 14-8 Loper victory. Loseke spent the past two years at Otero Junior College and had a 4.11 ERA in 46.0 innings in 2010. The Lopers could throw a number of players on the mound Wednesday. Todd Stachura is one of UNK's top returnees and has a 1.80 ERA after starting the second game against Wayne State. He gave up two runs on six hits in 5.0 innings in a no decision 4-2 win.

Damon Day is in his eighth season as head coach at UNK. Day entered the 2011 season with 196 wins, as he lad led the Loppers to two RMAC Tournament titles and three appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Day graduated from Benedictine University (Ill.).

Series History: The Huskers lead the all-time series, 45-1, including an 8-1 victory in the 2010 home opener. Nebraska christened Hawks Field at Haymarket Park against Nebraska-Kearney on March 5, 2002. The Huskers won that contest, 23-1.

2010 Recaps: (Nebraska 8, Nebraska-Kearney 1): Kyle Bubak drove in a career-high three RBIs, while five Husker pitchers combined on a four-hitter, leading Nebraska to an 8-1 victory over Nebraska-Kearney on March 2, 2010 at Hawks Field.

Bubak keyed NU's 14-hitt attack with a 2-for-2 afternoon, collecting an RBI double in the fourth and a run-scoring single one inning later, as Nebraska pushed across seven of the its eight runs in those two frames. The senior shortstop also scored twice, as Nebraska snapped a three-game losing streak. Tyler Farst also had two hits and drove in a pair of runs, as six different players had at least two hits on the day.

Nebraska's pitching was the story of the afternoon, as the Huskers won their home opener for the 32nd consecutive year. Four pitchers combined to allow one hit through the first eight frames before Nebraska-Kearney pushed across its lone run in the ninth.
Tyler Niederklein worked around trouble in the first before settling down, as the Lopers had a pair of walks before the right-hander struck out Mike Stamp to end the first. That began a stretch where the Lopers had only two baserunners and one hit - Blake Cover's third inning single - over the next seven frames.

Neiderklein earned the win, allowing one hit over three innings, while relievers Ryan Hander, Luke Bublitz and Chase Adams combined for six strikeouts over five innings of no-hit relief. Nebraska pitchers combined for nine strikeouts on the afternoon.

The Huskers pushed across a run in the second, getting a sacrifice fly from Bubak to take a 1-0 lead against UNK starter Roy Metter. After a leadoff single by Patric Tolentino, Josh Scheffert was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs. Khiry Cooper moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before Bubak lofted a fly ball to left to score Tolentino.

Nebraska broke the game open in the fourth, scoring four times to extend the lead to 5-0. After Scheffert was hit by a pitch, Bubak looped a one-out RBI double to left before another hit batter put two on for Adam Bailey. The senior right fielder than roped a double to the gap in right center for one run before Tyler Farst's opposite field single cleared the bases and staked NU to a 5-0 cushion.

Metter allowed five runs on seven hits over four-plus innings, but also struggled with his control and hit five Huskers to take the loss.

The Huskers made it 8-0 one inning later, getting an RBI double from Cooper and run-scoring singles from Bubak and Belfonte. UNK broke the shutout bid in the ninth, with Andrew Haake's two-out RBI single.

Weekend Review - Bearkat Invitational
Friday (Nebraska 12, Northern Colorado 8) The Huskers overcame an early 7-2 deficit with a seven-run fifth inning and had solid pitching from senior Casey Hauptman as Nebraska took a 12-8 win over Northern Colorado in the first game of the Bearkat Invitational in Huntsville, Texas last Friday afternoon.

Seven straight Huskers registered hits in the big fifth inning that gave NU a 9-7 lead. After UNC had scored seven runs in the first four innings off NU starter Tom Lemke, Hauptman was impressive as he allowed only three hits and an unearned run over the last five to earn his first win of the young season.

The fifth inning was highlighted by back-to-back RBI doubles down the third base line from Bryan Peters and Khiry Cooper that drove in three of the seven runs in the frame. Peters' double, which was part of a 3-for-6 day with a career-high four RBIs, chased UNC starter Joe Sawicki with his game-tying hit. Sawicki was responsible for nine runs on 15 hits, as Cody Asche's groundout and Josh Scheffert's RBI single to right pushed across the final pair in a seven-running to give Nebraska a 9-7 lead through 5 ½ innings.

Northern Colorado had taken a 7-2 lead on Lemke before the Huskers' seven-run fifth. Nebraska then put Hauptman on the mound and the Omaha native gave up only an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth to preserve NU's lead. The Bears scored at least one run in each of the first five innings before Hauptman held UNC scoreless over the last four.

Saturday (Nebraska 3, Northern Colorado 0) Senior Matt Freeman had the best outing as a Husker last Saturday afternoon as he notched career highs in innings (5.1) and strikeouts (7) to guide Nebraska to a 3-0 win over Northern Colorado (0-3).

The Omaha, Neb., native took the mound in the third inning after starter Jon Keller struggled with his command early on, not giving up any hits but walking five. Freeman (1-0), a graduate of Elkhorn High School, allowed only four hits and sat down 12 straight Bears from the fourth to eighth inning. After UNC put runners on first and second in the eighth with two outs, the Huskers called on freshman right hander Brandon Pierce. The Gunter, Texas native silenced all four Bears he faced while striking out a pair to earn his first career save.

The Huskers were hanging on to a 1-0 lead through seven innings, only notching a run by Cory Burleson via a wild pitch in the second. Nebraska, which pounded out 20 hits Friday, finally chased UNC starter Josh Tinnon in the eighth inning with three runs and three hits, propelled by a Kurt Farmer leadoff double to open the frame. Cody Asche also had an RBI sacrifice fly and Peters turned in an RBI double down the right field line to give Pierce a 3-0 cushion heading into the ninth inning.

Aside from striking out seven and giving up only four hits, Freeman also walked just one. The NU defense was solid all the way around, as the Huskers did not commit an error the second time this season. Catcher Patric Tolentino threw out three UNC runners attempting to steal second base, while center fielder Khiry Cooper also gunned down Casey Coy when the UNC first baseman tried to score from second on a TJ Berge single in the fourth inning. Coy and Berge were the only scoring threats on Freeman until the eighth inning.

Saturday (Sam Houston State 7, Nebraska 1)
Sam Houston State scored seven runs in the first three innings and Nebraska was held to its lowest run total of the season as the Huskers dropped a 7-1 contest Saturday night.

The setback snapped the Huskers' five-game winning streak and prevented NU's longest winning streak since 2008.

The Bearkats produced all the scoring they needed early on with four runs in the first and three in the third. For the third straight game, Nebraska had solid relief pitching as Khris Tate, Zach Hirsch, Nick Dolsky, Tyler King and Chase Adams held SHSU scoreless through the final six innings.

Sam Houston State had five well-placed ground ball singles off NU starter Sean Yost to open the game. That spurt put the Bearkats ahead 2-0 before Yost struck out Jesse Plumlee to record the first out. With the bases loaded, Christensen made a nice backhanded stop at short to get the force at second as Chris Andreas came down the line to score and make it 3-0. Yost nearly got out of the inning but a wild pitch brought home Mark Hudson to add a fourth and final run in the opening frame.

Nebraska got some offense going in the second inning and produced a run when Kash Kalkowski hammered an RBI double into bottom of the left field wall. Kalkowski's hit brought home Josh Scheffert, who led off the inning with a single to right.

The Huskers attempted to come back again in the third when Kiser and Peters both reached on errors, but Asche hit a hard grounder that resulted in a 6-4-3 double play. In the fourth, NU loaded the bases on singles from Farmer, Kalkowski and Kiser but could push any runs across.

Khris Tate relieved Yost to start the fourth and got two nice plays from Khiry Cooper in center field and notched a strikeout to keep the Bearkats off the board. Tate ended up throwing two scoreless innings, while Hirsch, Dolsky, King and Adams combined to keep SHSU scoreless the rest way of the way.

Sunday (Sam Houston State 10, Nebraska 9)
Nebraska overcame a two-run deficit in the ninth and nearly forced extra innings before Daniel Nottebart's walk-off single in the bottom half gave Sam Houston State a 10-9 win over the Huskers on the final day of the Bearkat Invitational in Huntsville, Texas.

With two outs and Braedon Riley on second, Nottebart sent what looked like a fly ball to left field. NU's Kash Kalkowski battled the sun and was unable to track the ball as it fell for the game-winning hit.

Trailing 9-7 after eight, the Huskers put together a late rally beginning when Kalkowski scored on a Bryan Peters RBI single through the right side, cutting the lead to 9-8. Cody Asche followed with a single to move Peters to third with two outs before Scheffert's ground ball went through the legs of shortstop Braedon Riley and allowed Peters to score the game-tying run.

Peters was 3-for-4 with three RBIs on the day, while Kalkowski also had a strong day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Sam Houston State was anchored by first baseman Chris Andreas, who had a pair of homers, including a sixth inning grand slam, as the Bearkats outhit the Huskers, 15-13.
The Huskers led 5-2 after 4 ½ innings before SHSU scored seven in the fifth and sixth innings, including Andreas' grand slam, to overcome the deficit. Andreas also had a solo shot in the third that put SHSU ahead 2-0 before the Huskers' responded with a five-run inning in the fifth.

The fifth inning outburst was in the form of a huge two-out rally with six straight hits, including three consecutive doubles, to take the 5-2 lead. Peters had the biggest shot, as his 2-RBI double off the top of the left field wall brought home Kiser and Kalkowski. Asche then doubled to right to score Peters for the fifth run. Farmer and Tolentino started the rally with singles and scored on Kalkowski's single and Kiser's double.

The Bearkats responded with two hits off NU starter Tyler Niederklein to lead off the fifth. That ended Neiderklein's day and NU brought in lefty Tyler King. The freshman got Andreas to fly out as Riley tagged up to score. The Huskers then brought in lefty Dylan Vogt. The Omaha native gave up an RBI single to Hudson but then retired Olson and Plumlee to get out of the inning with a 5-4 NU lead.

Nebraska came right back to regain its three-run lead in the sixth inning as Kalkowski continued his hot streak with a clutch 2-out, 2-RBI single up the middle to score Chad Christensen and Patric Tolentino. It would be a short-lived lead, however, as Andreas hit the grand slam as part of a five-run outing in the bottom half of the sixth.

Sam Houston State notched three straight singles and a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Niederklein then got Plumlee to pop out and struck out Bunch to end the inning. Niederklein had a solid second inning as he retired three Bearkats on only eight pitches after throwing 38 in the first.

Brandon Pierce (0-1) took a tough loss for Nebraska despite giving up only two hits in 1 2/3 while striking out a pair. Michael Burchett (1-0) was credited with the win, as he threw the final three innings and gave up two runs on three hits.

Leading Off

-After playing its first eight games in the state of Texas, the Huskers have returned home for a full slate of games at Hawks Field. Nebraska will play 15 of its next 16 games in Lincoln, only traveling to Manhattan for a non-conference contest at Kansas State on March 16. The Huskers are 208-66-1 all-time at Hawks Field. This is the 10th season at the ballpark, which is nationally-recognized as one of the best in collegiate baseball.

-Nebraska has thrived in the early to middle innings this season, scoring 64 percent of its runs in the second to fifth innings. The Huskers' best inning has been the fifth, producing 15 of its 61 runs this season in that frame. The Huskers have had four 5+ run innings in the first eight games.

-Nebraska's relief unit was the bright spot of the Bearkat Invitational last weekend. Senior relievers Casey Hauptman and Matt Freeman were each credited with a win as the duo combined to go 10 1/3 innings, while giving up only one run on seven hits. Freshman Brandon Pierce followed up Freeman's effort against UNC in game two by going the final 1 1/3, striking out two Bears and not allowing any hits to earn his first career save.

-Nebraska's control on the mound has been improved through the first eight games of the 2011 season as the pitching staff has allowed 3.4 walks per game. The Huskers had 4.2 walks per game in 2010.

-Kale Kiser has adjusted very well to his new role as Nebraska's leadoff hitter. The junior from Plano, Texas ranks sixth in the Big 12 in batting average (.469) and on-base percentage (.575). He began the season by finishing the opening weekend trip to San Marcos with a .571 batting average and .700 on-base percentage. He has drawn a team-high seven walks in 2011.

-Kale Kiser and Kurt Farmer each enter this Wednesday riding seven-game hitting streaks, while Kash Kalkowski has a four-game hitting streak.

-Freshman Jon Keller became just the fifth Husker freshman to earn a start on opening week since 1999, and the second to collect a win during that stretch after current NU pitcher Tom Lemke did so in 2010. Keller threw six shutout innings against Air Force on Feb. 19 to earn the win. Here is how Keller compared to the other four freshman hurlers.

Freshman Starting Pitchers on Opening Weekend
Name      Opponent   Dec.     Inn    H   R  ER  BB         K
Shane Komine New Mexico St.    ND      3.2        7           5           3           3           3
Brent Potter  San Diego St. ND    2.1  5           6           6           2           3
Johnny Dorn Hawaii-Hilo    ND    4.2  4           2           0           0           4
Tom Lemke  Fresno State   W  5.0      6           0           0           2           6
Jon Keller   Air Force   W 6.0 3   0    0           2           6

-Kale Kiser's five-hit day against Missouri State on Feb. 20 marked the seventh time a player has had at least five hits in a game under Mike Anderson. Kyle Bubak had most recently done so on Feb. 26, 2010 against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi. Before that, it had not happened since 2007.

5 or More Hits in a Game since 2003
No.   Player                              Opponent    Date
6     Steve Edlefsen  Iowa             4/11/06
5     Kyle Bubak       TAMU-CC      2/26/10
5     Andy Gerch      Illinois State   2/18/07
5     Curtis Ledbetter Missouri        5/28/05
5     Jake Opitz        Iowa             4/11/06
5     Jeff Tezak         Alabama        3/10/07
5     Kale Kiser         Missouri State 2/20/11

-Nebraska's 36 runs on 51 hits were the highest offensive totals the Huskers have put up on opening weekend since 2004 when NU  the Huskers totaled 53 runs at the Ultimate Dugout Baseball Fiesta in Albuquerque, N.M. Since then, no NU team had more than 22 runs on opening weekend over the past six years. Additionally, despite the newly certified BBCOR bats, which have projected a downgrade in power in college baseball, the Huskers homered four times in San Marcos, marking the most round-trippers on opening weekend since 2006. Josh Scheffert's solo shot in the Nebraska's fourth at-bat of the season was the quickest home run in over a decade. The Husker bats did not produce any home runs last weekend in Huntsville, although had several long fly balls reach the warning track.

-Kash Kalkowski and Kale Kiser gave Nebraska grand slams in back-to-back wins over Washington and Missouri State on Feb. 19 and 20. It was the quickest back-to-back grand slams since April 18, 2000 when Dan Wright and Jeff Leise each did so in NU's 19-6 win over Western Illinois at Buck Beltzer Stadium.

-NU's leadoff man reached first in 20 of 36 innings on opening weekend, including a stretch of reaching safely in 17 of the last 27 innings in San Marcos. The Huskers saw that number dip last weekend in Huntsville the lead off man got on in 15 of 35 innings.

- The Huskers have now played February games in the state of Texas in seven of the past eight years. Nebraska is 22-10 in those opening-month contests.

-The Huskers bring back one of its most experienced teams in a while, as 20 letterwinners are back for the 2011 campaign. It is the second-highest number of returning letterwinners in the past 11 years.

-Eight Huskers, including six true freshmen, saw their first collegiate playing time in Nebraska's trip to the Texas State Tournament last week. Among the group was Jon Keller, a right hander from Cedar Rapids, who guided NU to its first win of the season, an 8-1 win over Air Force on Saturday. Right hand reliever Brandon Pierce was impressive in the game as well, shutting down the AFU bats in the ninth inning as he faced the minimum and struck out a pair.

Freshmen Who Played on Opening Weekend
Freshman                Pos.
Tanner Krietemeier     OF
Michael Pritchard      OF
Pat Hirschberg*         OF
Nick Miller                INF
Jon Keller                 RHP
Brandon Pierce         RHP
Tyler King                 LHP
Zach Hirsch*            RHP

*-Redshirt freshman

-Nebraska was 24-4 when leading after six innings last year, but just 2-19 when trailing after six.

-NU has 125 come-from-behind wins under Mike Anderson since 2003. The Huskers had 10 come-from-behind wins last season, including overcoming a 10-run deficit against North Dakota on March 30 and a four-run deficit against Southeast Missouri State on May 8. NU overcome a 7-2 deficit to defeat Northern Colorado on Feb. 27.

-The Huskers are 81-10 dating back to 2008 when they out-hit an opponent and have won 90 percent of their games since 2003 when out-hitting an opponent. Last season, NU was 25-4 when out-hitting opponents. The Huskers are also 29-9 when reaching double-figures in hits, but just 3-21- when held to nine hits or less.

Eight Draftees on 2011 Roster
For the second straight year, Nebraska's 2011 roster boasts a total of eight Huskers who have been previously selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Nebraska's eight draft selections ranks in a third-place tie in the Big 12.

Drafted Huskers
Player            Round  Team              Year
Khiry Cooper   5th       Los Angeles-AL 2008
Kash Kalkowski          48th   Tampa Bay 2008
Tom Lemke     10th     Texas             2009
Ryan Hander   39th     Los Angeles-NL 2009
Sean Yost       24th     Boston                     2010
Brandon Pierce          26th   Pittsburgh 2010
Logan Ehlers   8th      Toronto                   2010
Jon Keller       11th     Seattle                     2010

Drafted Players by Big 12 School
No.   School        Player
1.     Texas            16
2.     Oklahoma State 12
3.     Baylor            8
       Nebraska        8
       Kansas State    8
       Texas A&M      8
7.     Kansas           7
8.     Oklahoma       5
9.     Texas Tech     4
10.    Missouri         3

Huskers From Around the Nation
The 2011 Huskers come from 12 states across the nation. Nebraska natives comprised nearly one-third of the opening-day 35-man roster, while the Huskers also have six Texas natives.

State                                         Players
Nebraska                                          11
Texas                                                6
Colorado                                           5
Missouri                                            3
Illinois, Iowa                                       2
Louisiana, Minnesota, South Dakota   1
Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma

Join the Husker Home Run Club at Oklahoma
The Husker Home Run Club is sponsoring a bus trip to Norman, Okla., to support the baseball team against Big 12-preseason favorite Oklahoma on Friday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23.

For more information and to download a registration form for the bus trip, please log on to huskerhomerunclub.com or contact Ed Bolejack at 402-617-5913.

Next Up
The Huskers play one of its biggest home series of the season this Friday-Sunday when they host No. 5 UCLA at Hawks Field. The Bruins were the 2010 NCAA runner-up and have been ranked as high as No. 1 this year. All three games will be afternoon contests (1:35 p.m., 2:05 p.m., 1:05 p.m.).